When The Dust Settles
by septasonicxx
Summary: Post-war. Draco Malfoy finds it hard to deal with the death of his mother and doesn't know how to move on. He gets help from someone else to do just that. Slight Dramione, Draco/Hermione.


A/N: Okay guys. I wrote this story a while ago while listening to the song 'Hello' by Evanescence. One line really stuck out to me from that song, and it ties with the story perfectly.

'Has no one told you she's not breathing?'

So, with that said, I hope you enjoy reading it! And I apologise if any facts are incorrect or anything, because it was written before the last book of Harry Potter came out and to be honest I've only actually read up to book 3.

Everyone turned to look at him as he walked in the doors. He could feel their eyes on him as he walked calmly through the room and down the hall. But he was far from calm. There weren't tears streaming down his face for no reason, and his heart was pounding so hard in his chest he thought it was going to burst out.

He stopped outside a door, staring at it as his hand slowly lifted to take hold of the door handle. All eyes were still fixed to him. He blinked, causing more tears to splash down his cheeks. Taking a deep shaky breath, he opened the door and walked in. The room where he had just been remained silent as everyone waited for him to return, wanting to see his reaction and know if he was okay even though they were not friends with him.

He was now inside the room, slowly shutting the door behind him and walking up to the bed in the middle of the room. There was a doctor standing at the back of the room with a clipboard in hand, silently watching as Draco Malfoy walked up and touched his mother's face. A strangled sob escaped the young man's mouth and the doctor looked away, not wanting to intrude on his moment to say goodbye.

Draco's mother's perfect blonde hair splayed across the pillow and she looked so peaceful as she lay there. There was even the slightest hint of a smile on her face which only tore Draco's heart apart more.

"I'm so sorry." he whispered, softly stroking her hair while fresh tears slid down the paths of the old ones on his cheeks. "It's all my fault that you're gone. I was selfish and I only wanted to get away as soon as possible." there was another slight sob before he drew in another breath to try and steady himself. "Why didn't I go looking for you? I knew you didn't want to be there either. Why, why, why?" he asked himself, bringing his hands up to his face and sobbing, letting all the anxiety of the situation out as he sat down on the chair that was behind him.

The door slowly opened and he looked over his shoulder to see Hermione Granger slipping in. She closed the door behind her and walked up, placing a hand on his shoulder comfortingly as he looked away again. The doctor quietly excused himself and walked out.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked quietly.

"How do you think I'm feeling?" Draco snapped, trying to sound overpowering. His voice was still shaky so it didn't work quite as he had hoped.

"If you need anyone to talk to, I'm right here." Hermione said. "And try not to blame yourself for what happened, okay?" she soothed, smiling at him slightly. He looked up at her, anger in his eyes.

"Who am I supposed to blame then? Gosh Granger, it is _so _obvious it was my fault. I was so selfish I didn't even bother looking for her before running off. I was just thinking about getting out of there alive for myself, how selfish is that?" he spat.

"Anyone else would have done the same. Heck, _I_ would have done the same!" Hermione said, drawing her hand back from his shoulder. He sat there silently for a moment and then looked up at her again.

"What am I supposed to do now? I knew they were going to kill my father, it's obvious. I didn't even like him that much. But my mother?" he looked down, his body shaking as more tears fell. Hermione dropped down to her knees, wrapping her arms around him to comfort him.

"It's okay, we all have to learn how to move on." she whispered, this time tears falling from her own eyes.

"But you don't know how it feels!" he said gruffly, trying to move away from her grip.

"Yes I do Draco! I lost my parents in this war too. I know exactly how it feels." she drew back from him slightly and he looked over at her with shock in his eyes. She had lost her parents too. He couldn't get his head around it. Taking a deep breath, he did the only thing he could think of doing and reached over to her, wiping her tears away.

"We can help each other." Hermione said quietly, biting her lip slightly to keep from breaking down. "That's why I came here." she explained. Draco drew her close with an arm around her shoulders and she buried her head in his shoulder, more tears spilling out.

"Who would've thought we used to be enemies." he muttered, a small smile on his face as he tucked her hair behind her ear. "These wars do strange things to people." Hermione laughed lightly, lifting her head up to him with a smile.

"Do you drink coffee?" she asked, sniffing and wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

"Sorry, no." he said.

"Good!" she laughed. "Me neither, so let's go get a hot chocolate." he smiled, standing up and glancing over at his mother's lifeless body one last time before following his new friend out of the room.


End file.
